Refrigerator-door fastener.



No. 790,791. PATENTED MAY 23,1905. R. E. JoNBS.

REPRIGBRATOR DOOR PASTENBR.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 2. 1904. l

2 SHEETS- SHEET 1.

No. 790,791. PATENTED MAY 23, 1905.

' R. E. JONES.

REFRIGERATOR DOOR FAS-TENER.

APPLIOATIoN FILED JULY 2. 1904.

2 SHEETS-sum z.

Q @Mmmm NTTED STATES Patented May 23, 1905.

RICHARD E. JONES, OF GLEN OLDEN, PENNSYLVANIA.

REFRlGERATOR-DOOR FASTENER.

SPECIFICATION forming' part of Letters Patent No. 790,791, dated May 23, 1905.

Application filed July 2, 1904. Serial No. 215,129. l

T0 all whom, it may concern.-

Beit known that I, RICHARD E. JONES, a citizen of the United States, residing at Glen Olden, in the county of Delaware and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Refrigerator-Door Fasteners, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates generally to door-fasteners,and more particularly to a fastener particularly adapted for refrigerator, air-tight, and dust-proof doors, the object being to provide a simple and eiicient fastening device by.

means of which a refrigerator or air-tight door can be quickly and easily secured and as quickly and as easily opened whenever it is desired.

Another object of the invention is to provide a fastener in which the door can be forced tightly into or against the door-frame after it has been secured, thereby providing a perfectly air-tight joint and making this construction of fastener particularly adapted for use upon refrigerators and ice-boxes and airtight and dust-proof compartments.

The invention also consists in the novel features of construction, combination, and arrangement, all of which will be fully described and pointed out in the claim.

In the drawings forming a part of this specification, Figure l is a view showing arefrigerator or ice-box provided with my improved form of door-fastener. Eig. Q is a sectional plan view showing the relative positions of the various parts when the door is fastened or secured. Fig. 3 is a face view of the fastener. Fig. 4 is a sectional plan View of the same. Fig. 5 is a detail view of the operating-handle. Fig. 6 is a view showing the end of the base-plate and the guidingclip connected thereto, the bolt being shown in section.

Referring to the drawings, A indicates the ordinary construction of refrigerator or iceboX, and B the door thereof, said parts being constructed in the usual or any approved manner. The door is preferably built up of sections and is made stepped or shouldered, as usual, and the door-frame is correspondingly stepped or shouldered to receive the door.

C indicates the packing connected to the door-frame, which may be felt, rubber, or any other suitable material, and D indicates the packing of felt, rubber, or other suitable material connected to the door, and E indicates a packing connected to the lower edge of the door, and F indicates packing-strips connected to the bottom of the door and adapted to bind tightly against the sill. In practice I prefer to employ a packing comprising a filling of felt or hemp and an outer envelop of rubber cloth. A door and frame provided with packing such as herein shown and described will provide absolutely air-tight joint when the said door is closed, and in-order to hold the door securely in this position and also to force the door into the frame I have devised my improved construction of fastener, and in the practical embodimentthereof I employ a baseplate G, which is considerably wider at its forward end than at the rear, said plate being adapted to be attached to the outer face of the door adjacent its distal end. The rear end of this plate is formed with a vertical boss H, having a central aperture H', through which works the rear end of the bolt I, said rear end being circular in cross-section, as shown. The forward portion of the bolt works in a clip or guide K, attached to the base-plate at the forward end, the forward portion of the bolt being rectangular in cross-section, as shown, and bears upon the Hat-faced boss G', produced at the forward end of the base-plate G, the guiding-clip K straddling said boss and the forward portion of the bolt and permitting a free movement of said bolt therethrough. The intermediate portion of the bolt, or that portion between the round rear end and the rectangular end, is considerably enlarged, as shown at I', and notched upon the opposite sides, as shown at I2, and between said enlarged portion and the boss H and surrounding the round portion of the bolt is a coil-spring L, the normal tendency of which is to project the bolt forwardly, said forward movement being limited by the enlarged portion Il contacting with the guide-clip K. The forward end of the bolt is bifurcated and has a roller M arranged in said bifurcated end,

said forward end of the bolt being adapted to IOO engage the keeper N, secured at the side of the door-frame, said keeper being' essentially in the form of a horizontal hook and having a beveled nose N/, and the mouth or opening N2, into which the roller fits, is formed with an oblique wall or face N3, so that by forcing the end of the bolt against said oblique wall a short distance, so as to permit the end ofA the bolt to clear the end of the nose. vThe moment the end of the bolt clears the end of the nose the spring L will immediately project the forward end of the bolt into the mouth of the keeper', and the fastening operation is thereby completed. Should it be desired to wedg'e the door more tightly in the frame, it can be accomplished by forcing the bolt forwardly so that the roller carried at the end thereof will ride upon or wedge against the inclined face N3, and for the purpose of accomplishing this movement and also for the purpose of providing' means for withdrawing the bolt from the keeper I employ an elbow handle-lever O, having an arm O, which engages one of the notches I'2 of the enlarged portion I, the handle proper, O2, projecting outwardly from the face of the door, as most clearly shown in Fig. 2, so as to be in convenient position for operation. rlhe handle O is rigidly mounted upon ashaft P, which passes through the door and carries an inside handle Q upon its inner end, so that the bolt can be operated from either side.

lt is obvious that by pressing down upon the handle the arm O engaging the notched portion of the bolt will compress the Spring and move the bolt rearwardly, so as to withdraw the roller end thereof from the keeper. It is also obvious that by giving the handle an upward turn after the roller is in engagement with the face N3 a slight forward- .being in the form of a horizontal hook can be used as either a right or left hand keeper. The fastener is therefore adapted to be used upon either a right or left hand door.

All of the parts are preferably constructed of malleable iron, although any other suitable material may be employed.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The combination with arefrigerator having a hinged door, of a plate secured adjacent said door, a h orizontally-projecting keeper having a beveled nose and a wedge-shaped mouth, a plate carried by the door, a spring-pressed bolt slidably carried by the plate, a roller carried by the bolt adapted to ride over the nose and seat in the mouth of the keeper', and an elbow-handle carried by the door and adapted to engage the bolt and withdraw the roller from the mouth of the keeper.

RICHARD E. JONES.

Witnesses:

ELLIS STOFFORD, EDWARD D. TYLER, Jr. 

